CHEAP DIY DECOR FOR THE HOLIDAYS

1. dried fruit garland
2. cheap garland
3. clay ornaments
4. salt dough ornaments
5. candy cane garland
6. “days until …” paper garland
7. ugly sweater garland
8. indoor snowflakes
9. kiddie tree
10. holiday lanterns
11. ugly sweater pillow
12. paper mâché star

1. you can use citrus fruits like oranges, grapefruit, lemons, limes or apples or even pears. whatever fits your fancy, I personally prefer oranges and grapefruits. next you want to slice them as thin as possible, then top with cinnamon and/or cloves. pop those babies in the oven at 325F or below and check on them about every thirty minutes to an hour depending on how high you put your oven at. take out of the oven once they look dry enough to your liking. once cooled thread some twine, hemp or even embroidery string through them. you may need a needle for the previous step and definitely will need it for this additional one, but if you want to add something extra, cranberries wouldn’t hurt.
2. the most simple DIY on here. go get yourself a reel of floral wire, I believe that’s what it’s called, basically the thin green wire. head to a tree farm or even Costco and pick up some trimmings. use your wire to twist the trimming pieces together to make a long, natural and traditional garland. you can even use your wire to attach the fruit garland, some ribbons or some ornaments to jazz it up.
3. pick up air drying clay from any crafting or super store. seriously I promise you can find some sort of molding clay in the kids arts and crafts section at any super store. you can either roll them out and make handprint/paw print ornaments or sculpt the clay into candy canes, pine cones, snowflakes, what have you.
4. same idea as number 3 but easily made at home! seriously you just take 2:1 ratio of flour and salt. for example 1 cup of flour, 1 cup of water and 1/2 cup of salt. roll the dough out and either use cookie cutters or the kids handprints to make your ornaments. pop them in the oven at 250F for 1-2 hours depending on the thickness. you can also paint them once their cool.
5. another extremely easy DIY to spruce up the home for the holidays and/or be used as a sort of advent calendar. take some green embroider string or green hemp and knot it around the loop of your candy cane. repeat the last step for as many candy canes as you’d like. that’s it. easy peasy and cute as can be.
6. find some calligraphy template you like online. you can either copy and paste, or hand write your sign. make sure to use a sturdy sheet of paper. I decided to make two signs. one that said “December…” with two pine trees and one that says “Day of Saturnalia” with some ornaments. for each I cut a slit in the button of the paper for my paper chain. add a loop for each day or you can do a “Christmas Countdown” and take a loop of paper off the chain as the days go by.
7. using some construction paper you want to cut out “sweater angels” just like you would cut paper angels instead use a sweater shape. either you can decorate them yourself or let your kiddos get crafty. you can also cut separate sweaters and just thread some strings through holes on either “sleeve” to make it look less like a kids art project and more like simplistic holiday decor.
8. cut out some paper snowflakes of all shapes and sizes. using fishing line and pushpins(or nails or tape depending on what material your ceiling is made out of) hang your snowflakes around the tree, the entry way, or wherever to give the effect that it’s “snowing” inside. this ones another simple, quick DIY that’ll give you that simplistic yet chic look for your holiday decor.
9. head to a teacher surplus store(if you live in KC it’ll be on stateline, nestled behind a restaurant and is called ABC Toys) pick up a big roll of green paper or felt to cut out a tree. let the kids finger paint it, or do so yourself, or you could use more felt or paper or paints to make ornaments and lights. this ones a great art project to do with your kids to get into the holiday spirit.
10. you can recycle old candle jars for this or go out and buy a cheap set of mason jars, I recommend using something that’s clear or at least somewhat transparent. you’ll need to also pick up a large container of olive oil, candle wicks, essential oils, fresh fruits and/or greenery, possibly cinnamon sticks, cloves and/or glitter. anchor your wick with some sort of adhesive to the bottom of your container, twist the top of the wick around an anchor that sits on the lid of your container. place in your greenery, cut fruits, spices, glitter whatever you want to use to beautify your lantern. I recommend picking materials that have complementary or corresponding scents with the essential oils you’ll be putting in them, obviously the glitter doesn’t apply here. pour your olive oil into the jar in 1/3 portions, pausing to add in at least three drops of essential oil between each layer. trim your wick, and light.
11. take an old sweater from your closet and wrap it around a throw pillow to give it a holiday touch. you can safety pin it in a way it hides the hem, neckline and sleeves so you can salvage the sweater. you can also simply cut the sweater glue or sew it together inside out, leave one side alone and add a zipper then flip right side out and zip it around the pillow. you can also just flip the sweater pillow cover right side out after attaching the three sides together, stuff the pillow inside and close it up with a needle and thread or fabric glue.
12. cut two five point stars out of cardboard or card stock, cut 10 rectangles that will connect both stars together. hot glue your cardboard pieces together to make a 3D star. grab some tissue paper of a coloring or pattern you like. cut your tissue papers into strips and using a mixture of flour and water or Modge Podge adhere the paper strips to the entirety of the 3D star. to add a special touch you can sprinkle some glitter over the star or use a glitter spray paint on your star once its set to dry overnight.

HAPPY CRAFTING AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS. MERRY MEET LOVES.